Elena Chestnykh “Beneath the Skin"

Elena Chestnykh “Beneath the Skin" 2020

Watercolor on paper
Dimensions: 12 in x 18 in
Unique
Signed on Verso, includes a certificate of authenticity.

Elena Chestnykh was born in Novosibirsk, Russia, and currently lives and works in New York. Working across oil painting, watercolor, and sculptural objects, her practice explores themes of gender, body, and identity through a contemporary feminist lens. Her work centers on the female figure as both subject and agent—navigating selfhood, migration, sexuality, and empowerment within an evolving global society.
Chestnykh has exhibited internationally at institutions including the Museum of Contemporary Art Erarta (MCAE), Saint Petersburg; Art Center WINZAVOD, Moscow; the Novosibirsk State Art Museum, Russia; and NordArt, Rendsburg, Germany. In 2013, her exhibition “Urban Reflections” traveled to the New York Erarta Gallery, marking her first solo exhibition in the United States.
She has presented multiple solo exhibitions in New York, including “Woman in Landscape” at Space 776 Gallery (2022), and “Songs of Summer” at The Untitled Space (2023). Her work has also been featured in group exhibitions at The Untitled Space, SFAprojects Gallery, The Royal Gallery NYC, Trenton City Museum at Ellarslie (NJ), and “The Feminist Biennial” at Woman Made Gallery, Chicago.
Artist Statement
“In my artistic practice, I create oil paintings, watercolors, and sculptural objects to explore themes of gender, body, and identity. I investigate a woman actively searching for and creating her sense of self while finding empowerment. I view the female body as a source of vitality, desire, and strength. Having left my homeland, I realize that my body remains inseparable from me—an anchor that grounds me in reality."

Learn more about her work on our website.